U.S. patent number 9,619,200 [Application Number 13/903,345] was granted by the patent office on 2017-04-11 for method and apparatus for executing voice command in electronic device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Subhojit Chakladar, Hee-Woon Kim, Sang-Hoon Lee.
United States Patent |
9,619,200 |
Chakladar , et al. |
April 11, 2017 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Method and apparatus for executing voice command in electronic
device
Abstract
An apparatus and method for executing a voice command in an
electronic device. In an exemplary embodiment, a voice signal is
detected and speech thereof is recognized. When the recognized
speech contains a wakeup command, a voice command mode is
activated, and a signal containing at least a portion of the
detected voice signal is transmitted to a server. The server
generates a control signal or a result signal corresponding to the
voice command, and transmits the same to the electronic device. The
device receives and processes the control or result signal, and
awakens. Thereby, voice commands are executed without the need for
the user to physically touch the electronic device.
Inventors: |
Chakladar; Subhojit
(Gyeonggi-do, KR), Lee; Sang-Hoon (Gyeonggi-do,
KR), Kim; Hee-Woon (Gyeonggi-do, KR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. |
Gyeonggi-do |
N/A |
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
(Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, KR)
|
Family
ID: |
48625739 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/903,345 |
Filed: |
May 28, 2013 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20130325484 A1 |
Dec 5, 2013 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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May 29, 2012 [KR] |
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10-2012-0057044 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/167 (20130101); G10L 15/26 (20130101); G10L
15/22 (20130101); G10L 2015/225 (20130101); G10L
2015/223 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
3/16 (20060101); G10L 15/26 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1351745 |
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May 2002 |
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CN |
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1882146 |
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Dec 2006 |
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CN |
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10-2006-0097895 |
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Sep 2006 |
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KR |
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10-2009-0123396 |
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Dec 2009 |
|
KR |
|
00/58942 |
|
Oct 2000 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
Dr. E Chandra et al., A Review on Speech and Speaker Authentication
System Using Voice Signal Feature Selection and Extraction, 2009
IEEE International Advance Computing Conference, pp. 1341-1346.
cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Sirjani; Fariba
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Cha & Reiter, LLC.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for a portable electronic device, comprising: receiving
a voice signal Including a wakeup command and a voice command
subsequent to the wakeup command from a user, where there is a
duration of silence between the wakeup command and the voice
command; recognizing the wakeup command while a touch screen of the
electronic device is locked; in response to recognizing the wakeup
command unlocking the touch screen; transmitting a signal Including
the voice command of the voice signal to a server for conducting
speech recognition on the voice command and obtaining a recognized
voice command at the server; receiving a control signal
corresponding to the recognized voice command from the server; and
performing an operation in response to the control signal.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing the operation
comprises executing a particular application of the electronic
device.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing the operation
comprises displaying data related to the voice command.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein unlocking the touch screen
further comprises displaying a graphical user Interface (GUI)
related to the voice command.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein recognizing the wakeup command
further comprises recognizing a predetermined speaker of the voice
signal.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein unlocking the touch screen
further comprises unlocking the touch screen in response to
recognizing the predetermined speaker of the voice signal.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein unlocking the touch screen
further comprises unlocking the touch screen in response to
recognizing the wakeup command and the predetermined speaker of the
voice signal.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice signal is input through
a microphone of the electronic device in an idle mode, and when the
wakeup command is detected in the idle mode, a voice command mode
is activated.
9. A portable electronic terminal comprising: one or more
processors; memory storing one or more programs configured for
execution by the one or more processors, wherein the one or more
programs comprises Instructions for: receiving a voice signal
including a wakeup command and a voice command subsequent to the
wakeup command from a user, where there is a duration of silence
between the wakeup command and the voice command; recognizing the
wakeup command while a touch screen of the portable electronic
terminal is locked; in response to recognizing the wakeup command
unlocking the touch screen; transmitting a signal including the
voice command of the voice signal to a server for conducting speech
recognition on the voice command and obtaining a recognized voice
command at the server; receiving a control signal corresponding to
the recognized voice command from the server; and performing an
operation in response to the control signal.
10. The portable electronic terminal of claim 9, wherein performing
the operation comprises executing a particular application of the
portable electronic terminal.
11. The portable electronic terminal of claim 9, wherein performing
the operation comprises displaying data related to the voice
command.
12. The portable electronic terminal of claim 9, further
comprising, wherein unlocking the touch screen further comprises
displaying a graphical user Interface (GUI) related to the voice
command.
13. The portable electronic terminal of claim 9, wherein
recognizing the wakeup command further comprises recognizing a
predetermined speaker of the voice signal.
14. The portable electronic terminal of claim 13, wherein unlocking
the touch screen further comprises unlocking the touch screen in
response to recognizing the predetermined speaker of the voice
signal.
15. The portable electronic terminal of claim 14, wherein unlocking
the touch screen further comprises unlocking the touch screen in
response to recognizing the wakeup command and the predetermined
speaker of the voice signal.
16. The portable electronic terminal of claim 15, wherein the voice
signal is input through a microphone of the portable electronic
terminal in an idle mode, and when the wakeup command is detected
in the idle mode, a voice command mode is activated.
Description
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(a) to a Korean patent application filed in the Korean
Intellectual Property Office on May 29, 2012, and assigned Serial
No. 10-2012-0057044, the entire disclosure of which is hereby
incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates generally to an electronic device.
More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an apparatus
and a method for executing a voice command in an electronic
device.
BACKGROUND
In recent times, as multimedia technologies have grown, electronic
devices having multiple functions have proliferated. Examples of
such multi-function devices include portable terminals such as
smart phones, tablet PCs, smart cameras, as well as fixed
home-based devices such as electronic devices integrated with home
kitchen appliances. The electronic devices mostly include a
convergence function which combines a number of functions.
Portable terminal designers strive to achieve advanced performance
as well as the convergence function, as well as slim and aesthetic
designs of the device as a whole. Terminal manufacturers compete to
present substantially the same or advanced performance and to
engineer new models that are smaller and slimmer than prior
designs.
Among the various functions available, a recently commercialized
device provides a voice recognition function of relatively high
accuracy. Such a voice recognition function accurately recognizes a
user's voice to easily execute a corresponding function of the
device without having to press a separate button or touch a key or
touchscreen.
For example, the voice recognition function allows the user to make
a call or write a text message without separate manipulation in a
portable terminal such as a smart phone, to send the generated
message, and to easily set various functions such as a route
planner, Internet search, and alarm.
To execute the voice recognition function, the related art drives a
corresponding voice recognition application, activates the voice
recognition function, and then performs the corresponding
function.
However, to perform the voice recognition, the voice recognition
application is initially started in response to a touch input
command on a separate key or the touchscreen. This operation goes
against the unique function of the voice recognition for
facilitating data input without touch. Further, launching the voice
recognition application requires finding it in a display screen
including various application objects, which may be difficult and
time consuming in some circumstances.
SUMMARY
Embodiments of apparatus and methods for executing a voice command
in an electronic device are disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment,
a voice signal is detected and speech thereof is recognized. When
the recognized speech contains a wakeup command, a voice command
mode is activated, and a signal containing at least a portion of
the detected voice signal is transmitted to a server. The server
generates a control signal or a result signal corresponding to the
voice command, and transmits the same back to the electronic
device. The device receives and processes the control or result
signal, and awakens. Thereby, voice commands are executed without
the need for the user to physically touch the electronic
device.
In various embodiments:
The voice signal may comprise the wakeup command followed by the
voice command.
The wakeup command may also comprise the voice command.
A silence duration may be determined between the wakeup command and
the voice command.
Processing the control signal or the result signal may comprise
executing a particular application of the electronic device.
Processing of the control signal or the result signal may comprise
displaying data corresponding to the result signal.
Once the voice command mode is activated, an object may be
activated on a display indicative of the voice command mode being
activated.
When a screen is locked prior to recognizing the wakeup command in
the speech, the screen may be unlocked responsive to the recognized
wakeup command.
The speech may be recognized to contain a predetermined wakeup
command only if a predetermined speaker of the voice signal is
recognized. The wakeup command may be detected automatically when
the voice of the predetermined speaker is recognized.
Alternatively, the wakeup command may be detected when the voice of
the predetermined speaker is recognized and a predetermined wakeup
command is recognized within the speech of the predetermined
speaker. In another embodiment, a method for executing a voice
command in an electronic device, comprises: detecting a voice
signal which contains at least one of a wakeup command and a voice
command; transmitting the voice signal to a server; awakening the
electronic device upon receiving a result signal indicative of the
server detecting the wakeup command in the voice signal; receiving
a control signal or a result signal corresponding to the voice
command from the server; and processing the control signal or the
result signal corresponding to the voice command.
In an embodiment, a method operable in a server, for supporting a
voice command of an electronic device, comprises: receiving a
transmitted voice signal which contains at least a voice command,
from the electronic device; generating a control signal or a result
signal corresponding to the voice command by recognizing and
analyzing the voice command; and sending the control signal or the
result signal corresponding to the first voice command, to the
electronic device.
In an embodiment, an electronic device comprises: one or more
processors; a memory; and one or more programs stored in the memory
and configured for execution by the one or more processors, wherein
the program comprises instructions for detecting a voice signal and
recognizing speech thereof; when the speech is recognized to
contain a wakeup command, activating a voice command mode and
transmitting a transmit signal containing at least a portion of the
detected voice signal to a server; and receiving and processing a
control signal or a result signal generated and transmitted by the
server in response to a voice command within the transmit signal
recognized by the server.
According to another aspect of the present invention,
Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention
will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following
detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed
drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain
exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more
apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an electronic device for executing a
voice command according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 1B is a diagram of a system for executing voice commands
according to an embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for executing wakeup and voice
commands in an electronic device according to one exemplary
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method operable in a server according to
one exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of method for executing a voice command in an
electronic device according to another exemplary embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of another method operable in a server
according to another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for executing a voice command in
an electronic device according to yet another exemplary embodiment
of the present invention;
FIG. 7 illustrates a voice signal including a wakeup command and
the voice command that may be detected and recognized according to
embodiments of the present invention;
FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C illustrate a dialing based on the voice signal
including the wakeup command and the voice command according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
FIGS. 9A and 9B depict screenshots for illustrating a screen
unlocked through wakeup command detection according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention.
Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood
to refer to like parts, components and structures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following description with reference to the accompanying
drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of
exemplary embodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and
their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist
in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely
exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will
recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments
described herein can be made without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known
functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and
conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description and claims
are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely
used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding
of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those
skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary
embodiments of the present invention is provided for illustration
purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as
defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is to be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the"
include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates
otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface"
includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
By the term "substantially" it is meant that the recited
characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly,
but that deviations or variations, including for example,
tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and
other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in
amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was
intended to provide.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus
and a method for executing a voice command in an electronic device
and a server.
FIG. 1A depicts an electronic device 100 for executing a voice
command according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention. Electronic device 100 can be any one of a variety of
fixed or portable devices. A portable device can be a portable
terminal, mobile terminal, mobile pad, media player, tablet
computer, smart phone, a notebook/desktop computer, a Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart camera, and so forth. The
electronic device may be a portable electronic device combining two
or more functions of those devices. An example of a fixed
electronic device is an electronic display device attached to a
home appliance such as a kitchen appliance.
Electronic device 100 can include a controller 110, a
speaker/microphone 112, a camera 120, a Global Positioning System
(GPS) receiver 130, a Radio Frequency (RF) unit 140, a sensor
module 150, a touch screen 160, a touch screen controller 165, and
an external memory 170.
Briefly, according to embodiments of the invention, device 100
detects a voice signal and recognizes speech in the detected
signal. When the speech is recognized to contain a wakeup command,
device 100 activates a voice command mode. In the voice command
mode, device 100 is able to respond to subsequent voice commands.
Thus, if the device is in a locked screen state or an idle state
(or in both of these states if conditions allow), the device can be
awakened through the wakeup command recognition without the need
for the user to physically touch a key or touchscreen on the device
100. Once the wakeup command is detected, a speech recognition
process is performed to discern if a voice command has been
uttered. If a voice command is recognized, the device 100 can then
perform an operation associated with that command.
In one embodiment, both the wakeup command detection and the voice
command recognition are performed in the device 100. In another
embodiment, the wakeup command detection is performed at device 100
and the voice command recognition is performed at a server,
following a transmission of a portion of the voice signal from the
device 100 to the server. In still another embodiment, both the
wakeup command detection and the voice command detection are
performed at the server.
The controller 100 can include an interface 101, one or more
processors 102 and 103, and an internal memory 104. In some cases,
the whole controller 110 may be referred to as the processor. The
interface 101, the application processor 102, the communication
processor 103, and the internal memory 104 can be separate
components or integrated onto one or more integrated circuits.
The application processor 102 performs various functions for the
electronic device by running various software programs and the
communication processor 103 processes and controls voice
communication and data communication. In addition to those typical
functions, the processors 102 and 103 also execute a particular
software module (instruction set) stored in the external memory 170
or the internal memory 104 and conduct particular functions
corresponding to the module. That is, the processors 102 and 103
carry out the method of the present invention in association with
software modules stored in the external memory 170 or the internal
memory 104.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention
(corresponding to the method of FIG. 2) the application processor
102 receives a voice signal including a wakeup command and a
subsequent voice command from a user through the microphone 110,
and performs speech recognition on the voice signal to detect the
presence of the wakeup command. When the wakeup command is
detected, the application processor 102 may detect a silence
duration between the wakeup command and the subsequent voice
command in the voice signal. Thus the application processor 102
determines whether the portion of the voice signal corresponding to
the voice command begins, and when it does, the application
processor 102 sends that portion of the voice signal to a server.
Next, the application processor 102 receives a voice recognition
result corresponding to the voice command from the server and
performs a corresponding operation based on this result.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention
(corresponding to the method of FIG. 4), the application processor
102 sends to the server all of the voice signal including the
wakeup command portion and the voice command portion, and receives
a speaker verification result corresponding to the wakeup command
from the server. When the result indicates that the wakeup command
is detected, the application processor 102 activates the system.
Next, the application processor 102 receives a voice recognition
result corresponding to the voice command and performs the
operation based on the voice recognition result.
According to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention (corresponding to the method of FIG. 6), the application
processor 102 receives the voice signal including the wakeup
command and the voice command from the user through the microphone
110, and performs the wakeup command detection using speech
recognition. When the wakeup command is detected, the application
processor 102 uses a voice recognition algorithm to recognize a
voice command in a subsequent portion of the voice signal and
performs the corresponding operation based on the recognized voice
command.
One or more voice recognition processors and a speaker verification
processor can be a part of the application processor 102, or can be
provided as separate processors. The voice recognition processor
and the speaker verification processor may be unified, and include
a plurality of processors for different functions according to
their implementation. The interface 101 interconnects the touch
screen controller 165 of the electronic device with the external or
internal memory 170 or 104.
The sensor module 150 is coupled to the interface 101 to allow
various functions. For example, a motion sensor and an optical
sensor can be coupled to the interface 101 to detect a motion of
the electronic device or to detect the light from the outside.
Besides these, other sensors such as position determining system,
temperature sensor, or biometric sensor can be connected to the
interface 101 to conduct relevant functions.
The camera 120 is coupled to the sensor module 150 through the
interface 101 to perform a camera function such as photo and video
clip recording.
The RF unit 140, which may include at least one processor, performs
a communication function. For example, under control of the
communication processor 103, the RF unit 140 converts an RF signal
to a baseband signal and provides the baseband signal to the
communication processor 103, or converts a baseband signal output
from the communication processor 103 to an RF signal and transmits
the RF signal through an antenna ANT. Here, the communication
processor 103 processes the baseband signal according to various
communication schemes. For example, the communication scheme can
include, but not limited to, a Global System for Mobile
communication (GSM) communication scheme, an Enhanced Data GSM
Environment (EDGE) communication scheme, a Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) communication scheme, a W-CDMA communication scheme,
a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication scheme, an Orthogonal
Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication scheme, a
Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication scheme, a WiMax
communication scheme, and/or a Bluetooth communication scheme.
The speaker/microphone 110 can input and output an audio signal
such as one for voice recognition (used during a training process
to train device 100 to recognize a particular speaker and/or wakeup
command and/or voice command), voice reproduction, digital
recording, and telephone function. That is, the speaker/microphone
110 converts the voice signal to an electric signal or converts the
electric signal to the voice signal. An attachable and detachable
earphone, headphone, or headset (not shown) can be connected to the
electronic device through an external port.
The touch screen controller 165 can be coupled to the touch screen
160. The touch screen 160 and the touch screen controller 165 can
detect the touch and the motion or their cessation using, but not
limited to, capacitive, resistive, infrared and surface sound wave
techniques for determining one or more touch points with the touch
screen 160 and a multi-touch detection technique including various
proximity sensor arrays or other elements.
The touch screen 160 provides an input/output interface between the
electronic device and the user. That is, the touch screen 160
forwards a user's touch input to electronic device 100. The touch
screen 160 also presents an output of device 100 to the user. That
is, the touch screen 160 presents a visual output to the user.
Here, the visual output can be represented as text, graphic, video,
and a combination of these.
The touch screen 160 can employ various displays, examples of which
include, but are not limited to, Liquid Crystal Display (LCD),
Light Emitting Diode (LED), Light emitting Polymer Display (LPD),
Organic LED (OLED), Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED) or Flexible LED
(FLED).
The GPS receiver 130 converts a signal received from an
"artificial" satellite, to information such as location, speed, or
time. For example, a distance between the satellite and the GPS
receiver 130 can calculated by multiplying the speed of light by a
signal arrival time, and measures the location of the electronic
device using the well-known triangulation by obtaining accurate
positions and distances of three satellites.
The external memory 170 or the internal memory 104 can include fast
random access memory such as one or more magnetic disc storage
devices and/or non-volatile memory, one or more optical storage
devices, and/or a flash memory (e.g., NAND and NOR).
The external memory 170 or the internal memory 104 stores software.
Software components include an operating system software module, a
communication software module, a graphic software module, a user
interface software module, an MPEG module, a camera software
module, and one or more application software modules. Since the
module being the software component can be a set of instructions,
the module can be referred to as an instruction set. The module may
be referred to as a program.
The operating system software includes various software components
for controlling general system operations. The control of the
general system operations includes, for example, memory management
and control, storage hardware (device) control and management, and
power control and management. The operating system software may
process normal communication between various hardware devices and
the software components (modules).
The communication software module allows communication with other
electronic devices such as computer, server, and/or portable
terminal, through the RF unit 140. The communication software
module is configured in a protocol architecture of the
corresponding communication scheme.
The graphic software module includes various software components
for providing and displaying graphics on the touch screen 160. The
term `graphics` embraces text, webpage, icon, digital image, video,
animation, and the like.
The user interface software module includes various software
components relating to a user interface. The user interface
software module is involved in the status change of the user
interface and the condition of the user interface status
change.
The camera software module includes camera related software
components allowing camera related processes and functions. The
application module includes a browser, an e-mail, an instant
message, a word processing, keyboard emulation, an address book, a
touch list, a widget, Digital Right Management (DRM), voice
recognition, voice reproduction, a position determining function, a
location based service, and the like. The memories 170 and 104 can
include an additional module (instructions) in addition to the
above-stated modules. Alternatively, if necessary, some module
(instructions) may not be used.
Herein, the application module includes an instruction for carrying
out a speaker recognition function or a speech recognition function
and a voice command execution function. The instructions according
to exemplary embodiments of the present invention correspond to
those for executing the operations illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4 and
6.
The various functions of electronic device 100 as mentioned above
and to be explained, can be executed in hardware and/or software
and/or their combination including one or more signal processing
and/or Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs).
FIG. 1B illustrates a system 195 for executing voice commands
according to an embodiment of the present invention. System 195
includes the portable terminal 100 which communicates with a server
190 through a network 180. Server 190 can be e.g., a home network
server, or a remote server accessed through a large network such as
the Internet. Alternatively, server 190 can be a third party
portable electronic device capable of performing a
speech/voice/speaker recognition and analysis function on voice
signals transmitted thereto. Server 190 includes a minimum of at
least one processor 192 and a memory 194 to perform a host of
operations. Exemplary operations of the server 190 in conjunction
with electronic device 100 will be described hereafter.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method 200 for executing wakeup and
voice commands in the electronic device 100 according to one
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
At step 201, the electronic device 100 detects a voice signal which
may contain the wakeup command and the voice command from the user
through the microphone 110. The wakeup command activates a voice
command mode of the system, in which no touch contact is required
with the touchscreen or a key in order to receive and analyze a
voice command. Prior to receiving this voice signal, the device 100
can be in an idle mode or a lockscreen mode. In some embodiments,
prior to receiving the voice signal, the device 100 can be in an
application execution mode in which no listening for voice commands
or operations responsive to voice commands are executed.
In the following description, it will be assumed that the wakeup
command is typically independent of a voice command that temporally
follows the wakeup command. However, in some "speaker-dependent"
embodiments also discussed below, any voice signal detected to be
spoken by a predetermined speaker can serve as a wakeup command. In
still other embodiments (speaker dependent or speaker independent),
the wakeup command also contains an inherent voice command. In the
latter case, the wakeup command both activates the voice command
mode and is a catalyst for the device 100 to perform an additional
predetermined task, such as running a predefined application set by
the user.
For example, the wakeup command can instruct to switch to a mode
for inputting the voice command ("voice command mode") and/or to
unlock the screen. The voice command executes various functions
provided by the electronic device 100. For example, the voice
command executes dialing, photographing, MP3 playing, and so on. In
various implementations, the voice command can request the server
190 to search a map and to plan a route.
In step 202, the electronic device 100 performs speech recognition
on the voice signal to discern whether the voice signal contains a
predetermined wakeup command. This speech recognition can include a
speaker dependent recognition scheme in one embodiment, or a
speaker independent recognition scheme in another embodiment.
Additional schemes are possible where a number of different wakeup
commands are predetermined, in which one or more predetermined
commands is a speaker dependent wakeup command and one or more
other commands is a speaker independent command.
According to the speaker dependent recognition scheme, a particular
speaker or user needs to train a recognizer with his/her own voice
in advance. In this case, the speech recognizer can recognize only
the speech of the trained voice. The speaker independent
recognition scheme can recognize speech of an arbitrary speaker
voice. The speaker independent recognition scheme extracts and
databases information about hundreds or thousands of voices in
advance, and thus any user can use it without a separate training
process.
Using the speaker dependent recognition, in some embodiments, the
speaker can be verified using the voice command portion of the
voice signal (which may comprise the entire voice signal). Hence,
there is no need to input a separate wakeup command. For example,
when the speaker is verified using unique voice characteristics of
the user, there is no need to input the separate wakeup command.
Accordingly, in these embodiments, the voice command can also
operate as the wakeup command. Thus, in steps 202 and 204, the
specific voice of the particular user is recognized, and wakeup
command is automatically detected via this recognition.
Alternatively, using the speaker dependent recognition with a
predefined text and the unique voice characteristics of the user,
the user can train the device 100 to verify the speaker (and a
specific wakeup command(s)) by inputting his voice corresponding to
the predefined text. In so doing, it is necessary to input the
wakeup command. Herein, the predefined text can be input directly
by the user or converted by inputting the voice several times. The
electronic device 100 or the server 190 can convert the voice to
the text.
When the wakeup command is detected in step 204, the method
proceeds to step 206. Otherwise, it returns to 201.
Although not illustrated in FIG. 2, when the wakeup command is
successfully detected, an "object for recognizing the voice
command" is activated on the display in the locked screen (see FIG.
8A). This object, which may be a virtual microphone, indicates
activation of the voice command mode, i.e., that the device is
actively listening for voice commands. At this time, the object may
be firstly displayed, or, displayed in an emphasized manner if a
faded version was previously visible, in the locked screen. A
Graphical User Interface (GUI) relating to the speech/voice
recognition can also be displayed at this time. Alternatively, when
the wakeup command is detected, the displayed object can be
activated and the GUI relating to the voice recognition can be
immediately displayed in the unlocked screen.
In an embodiment variation, when the wakeup command is detected in
the idle mode and the screen is locked, the object for recognizing
the voice command and the GUI relating to the voice recognition are
displayed together. When the screen is not locked, the object for
recognizing the voice command and the GUI relating to the voice
recognition can also be displayed together.
In step 206, the electronic device 100 detects a silence duration
(if one exists) between a first portion of the detected voice
signal (hereafter, "first voice signal") corresponding to the
wakeup command and a second portion of the detected voice signal
(hereafter, "second voice signal") corresponding to the voice
command. Of course, this assumes that the voice command is a
separate entity than the wakeup command (as mentioned above, an
embodiment is possible where the wakeup command is also a voice
command). For example, assuming that the wakeup command is "Hi
Galaxy" and the voice command is "Call Hong Gil-dong", when the
user consecutively pronounces "Hi Galaxy" and "Call Hong Gil-dong",
a silence duration exists between "Hi Galaxy" and "Call Hong
Gil-dong".
A short pause between two words in the detected speech can be used
to detect the start of the voice command. In an embodiment, an
extraneous portion of the detected voice signal immediately
following the wakeup command can be blocked from being sent to the
server together with the ensuing voice command. For doing so, a
Voice Activity Detection (VAD) technique can be used. For example,
a voice signal typically has more energy than a background noise
signal including the "silence" period. However, when background
noise is low, unique characteristics of the human voice can be
additionally identified. Typically, the unique characteristics of
the human voice are identified by observing energy distribution
throughout various frequencies. The human voice includes
characteristics signature but no noise. Hence, the VAD technique
can distinguish speech from a silence period including background
noise. Accordingly, in an embodiment, instead of transmitting to
the server an audio signal including all sounds detected subsequent
to the wakeup command, the device 100 waits until speech is
detected, and thereafter transmits only sound signals beginning
with the detected speech that follows the wakeup command. That is,
the method 200 avoids transmitting signals containing just noise of
a silent period following a wakeup command detection.
In step 208, device 100 determines whether the second voice signal
corresponding to the voice command begins. For example, device 100
checks the start point of the voice signal corresponding to "Call
Hong Gil-dong". When the second voice signal begins, device 100 at
step 210 sends the voice signal corresponding to the voice command
(e.g., "Call Hong Gil-dong") to the server. (The portion of the
voice signal transmitted to the server is variously referred to
herein as "the transmit signal.) (When the voice signal
corresponding to the voice command does not begin at 208, the flow
returns to 206.) Advantageously, by transmitting the voice command
to the server, device 100 is freed from the processor intensive
task of recognizing the speech of the voice command.
In step 212, device 100 receives the voice recognition result
corresponding to the voice command from the server. For example,
the server analyzes the voice command "Call Hong Gil-dong", and
sends a control signal corresponding to "Call Hong Gil-dong" to
device 100 or sends a search result of the route planning request
or the map search request.
In step 214, device 100 performs the corresponding operation based
on the voice recognition result corresponding to the voice command,
or displays a result corresponding to the voice recognition. For
example, when receiving the control signal corresponding to "Call
Hong Gil-dong" from the server, device 100 searches a phonebook for
a phone number of Hong Gil-dong and tries to connect the call with
the searched phone number. In the case of the map/route request,
device 100 displays the search result of the route planning request
or the map search request. Thereafter, the process ends.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method, 300, performed by
server 190 according to one exemplary embodiment of the present
invention. This method may complement the operations of the
above-described method 200 operating in device 100. In this
embodiment, the server receives the transmit signal, i.e., the
voice signal corresponding to the voice command (e.g., "Call Hong
Gil-dong") from the electronic device (e.g., transmitted at step
210 of FIG. 2) in step 301.
Next, the server analyzes the voice signal corresponding to the
voice command using a voice recognition algorithm (equivalently,
"speech recognition" algorithm) in step 302. That is, the server
analyzes the voice signal to recognize speech and discern a voice
command from the recognized speech. The server then determines
whether the result corresponding to the voice recognition is a
control signal in step 304. If so, the server sends the control
signal corresponding to the voice recognition to device 100 in step
306. For example, after recognizing "Call Hong Gil-dong", the
server provides the corresponding control signal to device 100 to
instruct device 100 to call Hong Gil-dong at an associated phone
number extracted from a phone book storage thereof.
When the result corresponding to the voice recognition is not the
control signal, the server provides the result corresponding to the
voice recognition to the electronic device in step 308.
Alternatively, the server sends image content containing the search
result of the route planning request or the map search request,
whereby the device 100 displays the content.
Accordingly, in the exemplary embodiments of methods 200 and 300,
the electronic device fulfills the wakeup command detection and the
server fulfills the voice recognition of the voice command.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
the server carries out both of the wakeup command detection and the
voice recognition of the voice command.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of another example method, 400, performed in
device 100 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention. Here, in an idle mode and/or locked screen mode, device
100 receives a voice signal including the wakeup command followed
shortly thereafter (or continuously thereafter) by the voice
command from the user through the microphone 110 in step 401. As
described earlier, the wakeup command, when recognized, activates
the system. For example, the wakeup command can instruct to switch
to the mode for inputting the voice command and/or to unlock the
screen. The voice command commands execution of various functions
provided by the electronic device 100. For example, the voice
command executes dialing, photographing, MP3 playing, and so
on.
In step 402, device 100 sends the entire voice signal including the
wakeup command and the voice command, to the server as the transmit
signal. Next, a voice verification result corresponding to the
wakeup command is received from the server (step 404). That is,
when the server detects that the transmit signal contains the
wakeup command, it sends the voice recognition result that is
received in step 404; otherwise, the server may not send any
recognition signal back to device 100. For example, when device 100
receives the recognition result at step 404, this indicates that
the wakeup command was detected, and device 100 activates the
system in step 406. The system activation unlocks the screen or
switches from the idle mode to an active mode or voice command
mode. (With the system activated and in voice command mode, device
100 may subsequently detect new voice signals containing voice
commands as in step 401 and repeat steps 402-404 and subsequent
steps accordingly.)
Next, device 100 receives the voice recognition result
corresponding to the voice command in step 408, and performs the
operation based on the voice recognition result or displays the
result corresponding to the voice recognition in step 410. For
example, when receiving the control signal corresponding to "Call
Hong Gil-dong" from the server, device 100 searches the phonebook
for the phone number of Hong Gil-dong and tries to connect the call
with the searched phone number. In the map/route example, device
100 displays the search result of the route planning request or the
map search request. Thereafter, the process ends, and device 100
may receive new voice signals at step 401 and forward these to the
server for processing, whereby the server may continue to respond
by sending control signals and/or results corresponding to the
subsequent voice commands. That is, steps 401 through 410 may be
repeated with relevant operations only for the voice commands, but
of course not for the wakeup command since the device 100 has
already been awakened.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary method 500 performed by
server 190 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention. This method may complement the operations of the
above-described method 400 operating in device 100.
At step 501, the server receives the voice signal including the
wakeup command and the voice command from the electronic device 501
(i.e., the transmit signal transmitted at step 402). In step 502,
the server analyzes the voice signal corresponding to the wakeup
command using the voice recognition algorithm. That is, the server
analyzes the voice signal corresponding to the wakeup command and
thus determines whether or not the wakeup command is detected. This
operation may be the same as that of steps 202 and 204 in FIG. 2
performed by device 100 in that embodiment. Note that a
speaker-dependent and/or speaker independent recognition operation
may be performed, as in the embodiment of FIG. 2. (Both types of
recognition schemes may be employed if multiple predetermined
wakeup commands are under consideration.)
In step 504, the server provides a speech verification result to
the electronic device. (Note that step 504 may be omitted in other
implementations.)
When the wakeup command is detected in step 506 as a result of the
speech recognition processing, the server then analyzes the voice
signal corresponding to the voice command using the voice
recognition algorithm in step 508. That is, the server recognizes
the speech corresponding to the voice command, and generates a
response signal corresponding to an action to be performed by
device 100 for the particularly discerned voice command. By
contrast, when the wakeup command is not detected in the voice
signal, the flow returns to step 501. To this end, the server may
transmit a signal informing device 100 that no wakeup command has
been detected, whereby device 100 may continue to transmit to the
server newly detected voice signals at step 501. In various
implementations, when the voice signal corresponding to the
previous voice command is normal, the server can request and
receive only the first voice signal corresponding to the wakeup
command.
Although not illustrated, the server can detect a silence duration
between the voice signal corresponding to the wakeup command and
the voice signal corresponding to the voice command, and thus
distinguish the wakeup command and the voice command.
In step 510, the server notifies the wakeup command result and the
voice recognition result (the response signal) to the electronic
device. For example, the server determines whether the wakeup
command is detected by analyzing whether the speech contains the
phrase "Hi Galaxy", analyzes the voice command "Call Hong
Gil-dong", and thus sends the control signal corresponding to "Call
Hong Gil-dong" to the electronic device 100.
Next, the server finishes this process, and may be configured to
listen for subsequent voice signal transmissions from device 100 as
in step 501. To this end, suitable signaling between device 100 and
server 190 can be designed to inform server 190 if device 100 has
returned to an idle mode or a lock screen mode. If so, the server
would treat a subsequently received voice signal as one that may
contain the wakeup command. If not, the server would naturally just
listen for a new voice command.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting operations of an example method,
600, performed by the electronic device according to yet another
exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment,
the electronic device carries out both the wakeup command detection
and the voice recognition for the voice commands.
Steps 601, 602, 604, 606 and 608 may be the same as steps 201, 202,
204, 206 and 208, respectively, of FIG. 2. The following
description of steps 601-608 reiterates some of the concepts
described in connection with steps 201-208.
At step 601, in the idle mode or in the locked screen, the
electronic device 100 receives the voice signal including the
wakeup command and the voice command from the user through the
microphone 110. The wakeup command activates the system. For
example, the wakeup command can instruct to switch to the mode for
inputting the voice command or to unlock the screen. The voice
command executes various functions provided by the electronic
device 100. For example, the voice command executes dialing,
photographing, MP3 playing, and so on.
In step 602, device 100 analyzes the voice signal using a speech
recognition algorithm (voice recognition algorithm) to determine
whether the voice signal contains the wakeup command. As explained
earlier, if speaker-dependent recognition is employed, this
operation may involve merely detecting that the voice matches a
predetermined voice, or that the predetermined voice also contains
particular speech matching a predetermined wakeup command(s).
Alternatively, a speaker-independent recognition scheme may be
utilized. When the wakeup command is recognized in step 604, the
flow proceeds to step 606; otherwise, it returns to step 600.
In step 606, device 100 detects the silence duration between the
voice signal portion corresponding to the wakeup command and the
voice signal portion corresponding to the voice command. For
example, provided that the wakeup command is "Hi Galaxy" and the
voice command is "Call Hong Gil-dong", when the user consecutively
pronounces "Hi Galaxy" and "Call Hong Gil-dong", the silence
duration lies between "Hi Galaxy" and "Call Hong Gil-dong".
In step 608, the electronic device 100 determines whether the voice
signal corresponding to the voice command begins. For example, the
electronic device 100 checks the start point of the voice signal
corresponding to "Call Hong Gil-dong" in step 608.
When the voice signal corresponding to the voice command begins in
step 608, the electronic device 100 analyzes the voice signal
corresponding to the voice command using the voice recognition
algorithm in step 610.
In step 612, the electronic device 100 performs the corresponding
operation based on the recognized voice command. For example, when
the recognized voice command is "Call Hong Gil-dong", the
electronic device 100 searches the phonebook for the phone number
of Hong Gil-dong and tries to connect the call with the searched
phone number. Thereafter, the process ends.
FIG. 7 depicts an example voice signal including a wakeup command
and a voice command that may be analyzed in the embodiments
described above. The illustrative voice signal input to device 100
may contain a wakeup command and a voice command in succession.
That is, the voice signal may have a portion 700 corresponding to
the wakeup command and a portion 720 corresponding to the voice
command, which are successively input to the electronic device. A
silence duration portion 720 lies between the wakeup portion 700
and the voice command portion 720.
FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C are screenshots depicting a dialing operation
using the voice signal including the wakeup command and the voice
command according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention. As shown in FIG. 8A, an icon object 800 for recognizing
the voice command is activated according to the voice signal
portion 700 corresponding to the wakeup command. The voice command
("Call Hong Gil-dong") corresponding to the voice command portion
720 of the voice signal is recognized as shown in FIG. 8B, and then
the operation is conducted according to the voice command. For
example, the phone number of Hong Gil-dong is searched in the
phonebook and the call connection automatically commences with, the
searched phone number as shown in FIG. 8C.
FIGS. 9A and 9B depict screenshots of a screen unlocked through
speech recognition and control operations according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9A depicts an example
lock screen; FIG. 9B shows an example unlocked screen. The process
of unlocking the locked screen to generate the unlocked screen as
illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B can be performed in any of the
above-described methods of FIGS. 2, 4 and 6 (e.g., steps 214, 406,
410 or 612).
In response to detection of the wakeup command portion 700 of the
voice signal matching a predetermined wakeup command or matching a
particular user's voice, the locked screen of FIG. 9A is switched
to the unlocked screen of FIG. 9B. Although not depicted, the
corresponding operation can be performed by recognizing the voice
command portion 720 corresponding to the voice command ("Call Hong
Gil-dong") following the voice signal 700 corresponding to the
wakeup command after the screen is unlocked.
In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention described
above, the wakeup command and the voice command are separated.
Alternatively, the voice signal corresponding to the voice command
can be used for both of the speaker verification and the voice
command. Namely, the speaker is verified with the voice signal
corresponding to the voice command. When the speaker verification
is successful, the corresponding function of the electronic device
can be controlled or executed according to the voice command.
The above-described methods according to the present disclosure can
be implemented in hardware or software alone or in combination.
For software, a computer-readable storage medium containing one or
more programs (software modules) can be provided. One or more
programs stored to the computer-readable storage medium are
configured for execution of one or more processors of the
electronic device and/or the server. One or more programs include
instructions making the electronic device and/or the server execute
the methods according to the embodiments as described in the claims
and/or the specification of the present disclosure.
Such programs (software module, software) can be stored to a random
access memory, a non-volatile memory including a flash memory, a
Read Only Memory (ROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM
(EEPROM), a magnetic disc storage device, a Compact Disc ROM
(CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs) or other optical storage
devices, and a magnetic cassette. Alternatively, the programs can
be stored to a memory combining part or all of those recording
media. A plurality of memories may be equipped.
The programs can be stored to an attachable storage device of the
electronic device and/or the server accessible via the
communication network such as Internet, Intranet, Local Area
Network (LAN), Wide LAN (WLAN), or Storage Area Network (SAN), or a
communication network by combining the networks. The storage device
can access the electronic device and/or the server through an
external port.
A separate storage device in the communication network can access
the portable electronic device/server.
As set forth above, since the detected voice signal including the
wakeup command portion and the voice command portion is processed,
the user can easily execute the voice command.
In addition, since the wakeup command detection is fulfilled before
the voice command is executed, the voice command can be carried out
based on security/personal information protection.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to
certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by
those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details
may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of
the invention as defined by the appended claims and their
equivalents.
* * * * *